Lawrence Reed, 50, was charged in a federal complaint Wednesday with a terrorist attack on a mass transportation system, two days after he allegedly doused a woman with gasoline and ignited a blaze on a CTA train.

The beloved holiday tradition will return starting next week and run through late December, the Chicago Transit Authority announced.

While Senate Bill 2111 was widely covered for the $1.5 billion it drives to transit throughout Illinois and its governance reforms in the Chicago region, the more than 1,000-page bill outlines a new approach to public transportation.

The 2026 budget makes permanent the regional day pass allowing a single, discounted 24-hour fare across CTA, Metra and Pace, as well as a program allowing paratransit users to ride for free on fixed routes.

The RTA held a special meeting to approve new funding projections for 2026 through 2028 based on revenue estimates from new funding sources for public transportation. Those were approved by the General Assembly last week, which Gov. JB Pritzker said he will sign.

Illinois lawmakers last week signed off on a sweeping $1.5 billion transit funding package that reshapes how the CTA, Metra and Pace are run and funded. The plan also creates what’s called the Northern Illinois Transit Authority to oversee the transit agencies.

State lawmakers approved new funding for public transportation agencies without large statewide tax increases previously proposed.

Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday expressed skepticism about some of the revenue streams House Democrats pitched in a transit rescue bill filed late Tuesday night.

No elevated trains will run in the Loop from 4 a.m. Saturday through 2 a.m. Monday due to track maintenance.

Riders would see their base fare for both bus and rail to increase by $0.25 — bringing the fare up to $2.50 for buses and $2.75 for rail — starting on Feb. 1, 2026, according to a CTA budget proposal released Monday.

Violent protests, legally questionable immigration raids and the deployment of National Guard troops without the governor’s approval will be at the forefront of state lawmakers’ minds when they return to Springfield on Tuesday.

Chicago-area public transit agencies are facing a fiscal cliff. The budget gap for CTA, Metra and Pace is at $200 million, according to the Regional Transportation Authority.

The funding freeze, which came despite a full funding agreement executed earlier this year, comes amid a broader anti-DEI push from the administration. In announcing the pause, federal officials said they’d be examining whether the Red Line Extension involves “race-based contracting” that Trump officials claim are discriminatory.

Local organizers who have been working on the project for more than 30 years said the Red Line extension is essential for those who live in “transportation deserts” on the Far South Side of the city.

The pause affects a long-awaited plan to extend the city’s Red Line train. The money was “put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting,” budget director Russ Vought wrote on social media.

The announcement comes just a week and a half before lawmakers are set to return to Springfield for the fall veto session, during which numerous legislators say transit will be a main priority.